"For those of you that are new or may not know, this award is a new tradition that we have started in honor of not only the first president of our show, but one of the most kind hearted, fun loving, and great people I have ever met in my life and had the honor to have known. As I am sure most of you would agree that this person was a friend to just about all, but considered family to most. On a personal level this is someone that I have looked up to my whole life and thought to be my bonus grandfather, this award is in memory of our own Fred Boulter.
Fred or as I have called him "Fwed" in a time where R's were not yet in my vocabulary, created this show over 19 years ago alongside his lovely wife Roma Boulter, my dad Rob Igoe, and good friend Bill Moore. He unfortunately passed unexpectedly a few years ago. In honor of his legacy here with Upstate NY Gift Show, we created this award called "The Freddy".
Each year, we as the show management choose a recipient that exhibits the persona of Freddy. This is not the exhibitor who sells the most product, writes the most orders or packs up their booth the fastest, but the one that honors Fred in the traits that he possessed. Someone who is caring and enthusiastic, show's genuine compassion for all of those around them, of course shares Fred's witty personality and humor, is willing to be the tough guy and lay down the law, but most importantly, carries the extraordinary spirit that Fred had.
I am happy to award this year's Freddy Award to someone who not only embodies all of these qualities, but we feel truly deserves this, and that is Jolene Marsh from Techstyles, we thank you for carrying on Fred's legacy."
- 2024 Award Presentation by Kendra Igoe
The Upstate New York Gift Expo has become one of the top regional wholesale gift shows in New York State. We first began this show back in 2006, and we, as the partners, pride ourselves in the strong community in which this event has evolved in to. This show was created by three families, Fred & Roma Boulter, Rob, Peggy & Kendra Igoe, and Bill & Donna Moore, and it is still ran by us. We feel that this speaks to the tone in which we operate our event. Some of our exhibitors and attendees have been with us since the very beginning! We find ourselves extremely fortunate to have grown this show into an event that not only our buyers, but our exhibitors look forward to each and every year. This puts the hard work that the partners put in each year into perspective and truly makes this 'work' feel less like a job but something we get to look forward to. If you decide to join our show as either an exhibitor or buyer, we think you you will quickly get the feel for this atmosphere that we strive to create!
In addition, the great exhibitors we have at Upstate New York Gift Expo bring some pretty fantastic stuff with them! We have a large variety of different vendors from all over the country displaying everything from t-shirts, handmade goods, tasty treats, souvenirs of all kinds, decorative pieces and much, much more! Even if you just come in to browse for your shop, we guarantee you will not leave empty handed. And to our exhibitors - be ready to meet (and sell) to buyers from all over the Northeast!
About Our Show
"The Freddy" Award
Roma Boulter & Jolene Marsh ('24 recipient)
The 2025 Upstate New York Gift Expo will be held on February 25th-27th.
Hours are 9:00-5:00 Tuesday & Wednesday, 9:00-3:00 Thursday.
**NEWLY LOCATED AT THE UTICA UNIVERSITY NEXUS CENTER**